The sound of my best friend’s voice startled me out of my daydream.
Turning, I faced Lily. By the look on her face, I had to question if we’d ever really been friends at all.
“Excuse me?” I asked.
“Couldn’t rope my brother into marrying you, so you found someone else?”
I narrowed my eyes and glanced past her. If she wanted to play that game then fine. “I’ll gladly answer your twenty questions if you answer mine. Who’s the guy? What happened to Nash?”
The way Lily’s body went stiff, I had to wonder if I poked a hornet’s nest.
“We’re no longer together.”
Wow. I wasn’t expecting that. “Did Tucker find out y’all were sneaking around behind his back for the last year?”
Her arms crossed her chest. “No, I met Mark and something sparked between us.”
I lifted one brow. “Is that so? Wasn’t he the guy your father kept trying to get you to go out with?”
“Don’t you dare judge me, Charlie. You lied to my brother and had every intention of tricking him into marrying you to save your ass.”
“Maybe in the beginning, but I wasn’t going to go through with it.”
“Right,” she scoffed.
“What’s your problem with me, Lily? I get your father passed away and grief makes you do stupid shit, but what honestly is your beef with me? Funny how I didn’t treat my ‘friends’ the way you are treating me after my parents passed away.”
Lily rolled her eyes. “You had everything, Charlie. My brother idolized you from the first moment he saw you. He fell in love with you in college, and you did the same. You were so stupid to walk away from that.”
My eyes widened. “Me? What about you on the arm of the guy your father wanted you with? How can you stand there and judge me!”
Tears filled her eyes. “It’s complicated.”
Now it was my turn to fold my arms over my chest. “Really? Because even though you never talked about you and Nash, I know you cared about him.”
She wiped a tear away, and as her eyes filled with sadness, I felt the urge to pull her into my arms.
Her steel guard finally broke.
“Oh God, Charlie, I messed up so bad.”
Burying her hands into her face, she let out a loud sob. Rushing to her side, I grabbed her and guided her over to a bench where we both sat down. I held her close to my side as she cried.
“Please tell me what’s going on, Lily. You haven’t been the same since your dad passed away.”
When she finally got herself together, she took in a shaky breath.
“A month or so before my father passed away, I had to attend some fundraising event. Mark was there, and I don’t know what happened. I mean, Nash and I had a fight a few hours earlier about me not wanting to tell Tucker about us. He had been pushing more and more about it, and I was so worried Tucker would be angry. Plus, if we came out as a couple to Tucker, it would get back to my folks. My father would have been so disappointed in me. Anyway, Mark flirted big time that night, and I had a few drinks. One thing led to another, and Mark and I were in the bathroom of the restaurant having sex. We didn’t even use protection, and I have no idea why. Maybe we were both so caught up in it neither of us thought about it.”
My hand came up and covered my mouth.
“Oh. No.”
She nodded. “I cheated on Nash, and the day my father passed away, I found out I was pregnant. It’s Mark’s baby.”
My heart dropped to my stomach, and I felt sick. “Oh, Lily.”
“I was so stupid. I loved Nash.”
“Loved?” I asked, wiping a tear from her cheek.
“I still do, but I know if he found out I cheated and got pregnant, he’d never forgive me. For a couple of weeks, I tried to tell him about Mark. Tried to tell him about the baby. Instead, I pushed him away from me. I told him about Mark the other day, and that I had strong feelings for him. I broke up with Nash before he found out what a piece of crap I am. I’m so sorry I lashed out at you at the wake. I was so mad at myself, and you were an easy target. Nothing happened with Noelle and my brother. She was all over him that day, but I swear to you, they are not together. At all.”
My head spun. Lily’s conversation was all over the place.
“Wait, Lily, slow down. You’re jumping from one subject to another.”
“I know,” she said in a weeping voice. “I need you to know that I never meant those awful things I said. A part of me wanted you to leave because I knew you would think Tucker was hooking up with Noelle. The way she was hanging on him and him not being in his right mind. They didn’t sleep together though. She told me earlier that Tucker was a fool who was still stuck on you. And he is. His drinking is out of control and he’s miserable. He loves you, Charlie. Please don’t marry this guy you’re with. Please give Tucker another chance.”
My breath caught in my throat.
“I’m not marrying, Darrell. I don’t have to get married now.”
Her eyes filled with confusion. “What? But you’re dating this guy … aren’t you?”
Shaking my head, I took her hands in mine. “No. He’s a family friend, and my company is doing some work for him. He asked me to come tonight because he recently broke up with his fiancée and didn’t want to be here alone. The vultures and all. He’s young, rich, good looking, and very much single.”
Lily wiped her tear-stained cheeks.
“Wait, did you say you didn’t have to get married now?”
I nodded and smiled. “It’s a crazy long story, but I’m CEO of CMI, and no one can take that away from me unless I want to give it away.”
She threw herself into my arms. “Oh, Charlie! This is wonderful news.”
I hugged her back. “I know. I’ve been trying to get some things straight in my head before I talk to your brother. When I saw him here tonight, I was over the moon at the idea of talking to him.”
Her smile faded. “He left. Mom said he seemed upset and took off. Said he had an emergency at the bar.”
“Shit,” I hissed out. “He saw Darrell and probably got the wrong idea about us.”
“Probably.”
I rubbed my temples and then dropped my hands. I was a shitty friend. Taking Lily’s hands in mine, I faced her.
“You’re pregnant?”
“Yes. Two months.”
“Does Mark know?”
Lily nodded. “He’s over the moon. He asked me to marry him last night and I said … I said yes.”
“Are you happy?” I asked, giving her hands a slight squeeze.
She shrugged. “This would have made my father happy.”
“That’s not what I asked, Lily. I asked if you were happy about this.”
Another tear slipped from her beautiful green eyes.
“I care about Mark a lot, and I’m sure once the baby comes and we’re married we’ll be fine.”
“But you don’t love him?” I asked.
“I think I do. He’s a great guy and makes me feel good.”
“Sexually, or just in general?”
Her cheeks blushed. “Both. He does things to me that Nash didn’t. It’s completely different with him. He likes … doing different stuff to me and I like it too.”
I smiled. “He’s into kinky shit, huh?”
She chuckled while letting out a quick sob. “Yeah. He likes tying me up and having sex in public places. It’s sort of hot. He went down on me in the limo on the way here, and that is something Nash would never have done. I don’t think I’ve ever come so hard in my life knowing the driver could hear us. It was … thrilling. I feel guilty saying that I like the way Mark makes me feel and that I’m falling in love with him because I really do love Nash. I’m confused.”
My heart broke for her.
“If I’ve learned anything these last few months, it’s that life is short. That we’re not granted tomorrow and if we don’t stand up for the things we want, they slip away and there isn’t a
damn thing we can do about it. If I could give you any piece of advice, Lily, it would be to tell Nash the truth. I’m sure he’s hurting and confused and even if it ruins your friendship, the truth is out there.”
She nodded. “He won’t forgive me. Maybe if I wasn’t pregnant, but carrying another man’s child, he … he won’t forgive me.”
Her head dropped to my shoulder. I knew she was right. Nash didn’t come from the same type of families as Lily and I did. His father owned a construction company that he pretty much forced Nash to work for. He didn’t drive $100,000 cars around like Lily, Tucker, and me. Hell, even Blake came from a well-to-do family. Nash would never truly fit into the life Lily made for herself. And with her father gone, she would surely step up her role in his communications company. She wouldn’t be CEO, but she’d be heavily involved, and that wasn’t Nash’s scene.
A thought occurred to me though. Lily had never given Nash the chance to try to fit into her world. She’d kept their relationship a secret, and it wasn’t until recently that even I found about the two of them. If she had just been honest, where would they both be now?
Pain hit me right in the chest. Who in the hell was I to judge?
“I need to find Tucker,” I said. “Will you be okay?”
Lily nodded, pulling out a small compact mirror and groaning when she looked into it.
“Christ, I look like shit.”
Standing, I leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. “You look beautiful.”
My eyes caught the sight of the guy Lily had been with. “Mark is coming.”
Taking in a shaking breath, Lily stood, smoothed out her gown and smiled. “He’s a good guy.”
I grinned. “I’m sure he is, but please think about what I said. Nash deserves the truth.”
Lily nodded and a somber look moved across her face.
“Hey beautiful. Everything okay out here?”
I watched as Mark wrapped Lily up in his arms. He kissed the top of her head and smiled at me. “You must be Charleston Monroe. Lily has talked a lot about you.”
My eyes darted back to Lily. “All good, I hope.”
I winked and he laughed.
“All good. It’s a pleasure meeting you. I knew your father. He was a good man. Did a lot for the community, as well as your mother.
My heart swelled at the mention of my parents. The hurt was still there, but as the days went on, the hurt faded to pride at the mention of their names.
“Thank you for saying that. They were both amazing people.”
We stood there in silence for a few moments before I finally said, “Well, if you’ll both excuse me, I have somewhere urgent I need to be.”
Lily smiled at me and said, “Good luck.”
With a smile, I replied, “I don’t need luck, I’ve got love on my side.”
THE KNOCK HAD me lifting my eyes to the opening door. Nash walked in with a smile on his face. He held a garment bag.
“Where are you going?” I asked, tossing the pen on my desk and arching a brow.
“I’m not going anywhere, but you are.”
I laughed. “No can do. I’m behind at work, and all those days you let me get trashed put me even further behind with shit.”
It was true. I was behind with everything except payroll, and the only reason that was okay was because I had an accountant who handled that shit.
Hanging up the bag, he turned to me.
“Dude, is that a suit in there?” I asked.
“Yep,” he said, sitting in one of the chairs in front of my desk.
“Okay, you want to tell me why you brought me a suit?”
“You’re going to a dinner.”
“I am?” I asked, my brow arched up in amusement.
“Do you remember what you said to me last weekend? When you came to my house upset and wanting a drink?”
“Yeah, I said I was never letting another woman into my life again.” Nash smiled and nodded his head. After seeing Charlie with that Darrell douchebag at the benefit, I left and started heading to a bar. I was ready to get drunk but turned around and went to Nash’s place instead. He gave me a glass of Coke, nothing else, and we talked for a few hours. He talked about Lily. I talked about Charlie. Both of them had broken our hearts and left each of us feeling lost in our way. I still couldn’t figure out what in the hell my sister was thinking. Nash confessed last weekend they had been seeing each other for about a year without anyone in the group knowing. All because my sister thought I’d be pissed. Hell, Nash was a great guy. The kind of guy who would work hard to give her the things she wanted. He didn’t make the type of money Lily made, and even though he thought that was why she ended things, I knew my sister wasn’t that way. It was something else. Something I had hoped to talk to her about tonight when we met Mom for dinner.
“Yes, you said that, but you also said you loved Charlie.”
“So?”
“So, I need you to trust me and get your ass in the suit.”
My brows pulled in tight. “What’s going on, Nash?”
“What if I told you that if you went, your life would change forever?”
With a gruff laugh, I asked, “How?”
Leaning forward, Nash placed his arms on his legs and stared me straight in the eyes.
“In the best way imaginable.”
The only way my life could change like that was if Charlie burst through that door and told me she loved me and she wasn’t marrying that dick.
“I doubt it.”
“Will you just go on faith here, Tucker? Please?”
“Nash, you walk in here with a suit, tell me to put it on, and say I’m going somewhere. Why? Where am I even going?”
The corners of his mouth rose. “I can’t tell you.”
“Why not?”
“I promised I wouldn’t.”
“Who did you promise?”
“Charlie.”
That made my breath hitch and my heart speed up.
“Charlie?”
The bastard leaned back, shot me a cocky grin, and answered, “Yep. Charlie.”
“When did you talk to her?”
He shrugged. “We talked a few times this week. She said she needed me to help her with something, and I’m helping.”
Leaning over my desk, I gritted my teeth. “Is this her way of getting me to go to her fucking wedding?”
Surprised by my words, Nash shook his head and laughed.
“Dude, will you please just put the fucking suit on and be out front at three? A limo will be here to pick you up.”
He stood and headed toward the door.
“And if I don’t go?” I asked, making Nash pause at the door before turning to face me.
“If you don’t go, you’ll regret it the rest of your life. I can promise you that. I’ve got to get back to work. I’ll talk to you later. Three o’clock, dude. Don’t fuck it up.”
The door to my office shut, and I spent the next ten minutes staring at it, the suit bag, and my phone.
When I couldn’t take it any longer, I picked it up and sent Charlie a text.
Me: What’s going on?
She replied almost instantly.
Charlie: Nash drop off the bag?
Me: Yes. What’s going on?
Charlie: I know I don’t deserve this, but I really need to talk to you.
Sighing, I typed my reply, hitting each key a little too hard.
Me: And you need me in a suit to talk? I don’t have time for games,
Charlie. I’m tired of playing them because neither of us ever wins.
My phone rang, and it was her name flashing on the screen. I knew the moment I heard her voice, I’d do whatever she wanted.
“I’m busy at work. What’s this about, Charlie?”
“The voicemail you left me, where you said you loved me.”
My heart jumped to my throat, and I couldn’t find the words to speak.
“Do you still feel that way?”
Closing
my eyes, I replied in a whisper, “Yes.”
“Then please do this for me. I’ll explain everything when you get here.”
She ended the call without even saying goodbye.
“Fuck!” I cried out, dropping the phone onto my desk. “Goddamnit, why is Charleston Monroe my fucking weakness?”
I had no idea who I was asking since I was alone in my office.
Glancing at my watch, it was two thirty. Nash said a limo would be out front at three. Standing, I headed over to the garment bag and zipped it open. It was one of my suits. Nash must have taken it from my closet.
With a heavy sigh, I took it out, headed to the private bathroom in my office, and changed. Luckily, Nash put shoes in the bottom of the bag. Once I was dressed, I took a look at myself in the mirror. I hadn’t shaved in two days and a good amount of scruff was on my face. My hair was in need of a cut and looked like I just rolled out of bed. But doing a once-over of myself in the mirror, I still looked pretty good. Had a bad-boy vibe going on, and I kind of liked that.
Grabbing my phone and wallet, I left my truck keys since I would be heading off in a limo. Where in the hell was I going, and what was going on?
As I made my way through the bar, I got a few whistles.
“Damn, look at you, boss!” one of the bartenders called out.
“Sign me up for a piece of you, honey.”
That one I had no idea who had said it, and since the only people in the bar were my employees, I chose not to look around.
Before walking out the front door, I tossed over my shoulder, “I’ll be back later.”
“Have fun!” a few voices called out as I stepped out of the building and headed toward the black limo that was already parked out front. The driver stepped out, opened the back door, and motioned for me to get in.
Once I got in, the man was in the driver’s seat and talking to me over an intercom.
“Mr. Middleton, there is champagne chilled if you’d like some.”
“No, thank you,” I replied.
The limo pulled out and started down the road. He made a few turns and went through downtown Austin and down Guadalupe Street. He turned left on Twenty-Fourth and finally pulled into the Neill-Cochran House.
Seduce Me Page 20
